Session: The Middle Adult Years

Preparation

• If teachers and leaders in your group only relate to senior adults, skip this section.
  
  
• Enlist a panel of guests to meet with your group to include a married couple experiencing the empty nest syndrome, a single parent, and a person who has experienced career difficulties (unemployment or underemployment).

Reflect and Practice

1. Open the discussion with prayer.
   
   
2. Ask group members to study their list of names of people in their class or group. Write a word or phrase beside each name to describe his or her situation. Use the list of life events in the article "The Real Middle Adult" as a discussion starter. Discuss how Bible study, mission study, discipleship, and mentoring groups can comfort and guide the men and women through their circumstances.
   
   
3. Introduce your special guests. Interview each person with the following questions.
   
   With the "post-parental" couple ask, "How did you individually respond to your child's leaving home? How has your child's departure affected your marriage? How can our church family minister to you?" Let your participants dialogue with the couple.
   
   Ask the single parent to share concerns and issues that complicate his or her life. "How has our church family assisted you with these concerns and issues? What can our church family do now to minister with you and other single parents?" Invite participants to dialogue with the single parent.
   
   Ask the fourth panel member to share his experiences with unemployment or underemployment. "What are specific ways our church family can help with unemployment and underemployment? How can we minister to your family?" Open the discussion for the entire group to reflect on unemployment and underemployment.
   
   
4. With the panel compile a list of common needs mentioned by the guests that could be met by your church family. Ask teachers and leaders to reflect on their current ministry actions and to identify what they could do in the near future. Be sure to thank your special guests as they leave.
   
   
5. Close the session with a season of prayer for the middle adults in your church. Remind participants to read the section for the next session.